The present invention relates to a bucket sports seat for vehicles, in particular passenger cars, having a seat section and a backrest section. The bucket sports seat has at least one shape-rigid load-bearing shell with upswept side cheeks for bilateral support of the legs, the buttocks and the upper torso of a seat occupant.
A bucket sports seat of disclosed in DE 42 32 364 C2 consists of a one-piece, shape-rigid load-bearing shell that is contoured to the human body and into which elastic upholstered elements are inserted. Such a bucket sports seat has been highly successful in its application in both street traffic and in racing sports, since both the legs and the upper torso, in particular the buttocks region of a vehicle occupant, enjoy optimal bilateral support.
In two door passenger cars provided with a rear seat arrangement, however it is very difficult or even impossible to get into and out of the rear seat arrangement when it is constructed as a bucket sports seat.
An object of the present invention is to provide a light-weight bucket sports seat such that, while retaining optimal lateral support for the seat occupant, access to the rear seat arrangement of a vehicle is guaranteed with minimum complexity in design.
The present invention achieves this objective by providing that the seat section and the backrest section are each assigned one separately fabricated load-bearing shell. A detachable locking mechanism is provided as a transaction region between the backrest section and the seat section.
Among the advantages that are targeted chiefly with the present invention lie in the fact the invention provides a light-weight bucket sports seat, of which the backrest section can be moved forward into a swung-down position by unlocking a locking mechanism. In the swung-down position, the rear seat arrangement of the vehicle is easily accessible. When the backrest is swung back into the upright position of normal use, the conditions for a bilateral optimal side support in the leg and upper torso region and especially in the buttocks region when the vehicle is running are met.
The simple swivel joints, provided between the seat-sided load-bearing shell and the backrest-sided load-bearing shell, and the detachable rear locking mechanism exhibit a simple, inexpensive design and require very little space. In particular, the swivel joints, as seen in the transverse direction of the vehicle, require very little space and exhibit negligible weight. For example, one middle or two lateral swivel snap locks may be used as the locking mechanism. In a simple design the swivel snap lock makes possible, on one hand, a stable anchoring of the upright backrest section on the seat section and, on the other hand, guarantees a simple forward swivelling of the backrest section onto the seat section.
The load-bearing shells, which are made of a fiber-reinforced plastic, in particular a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, exhibit negligible weight and due to their multi-shelled structure in certain places, high strength. In addition, the carbon look on the outside of the respective outer shell of the load-bearing shell imparts to the bucket sports seat a high-class appearance.